The prosecutors who stunningly dropped all criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, against eight remaining defendants in the Flint water crisis defended the decision at a contentious town hall.

Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy, who announced the move in mid-June, stood in front of about 100 people Friday night and ran through a laundry list of criticisms about how the investigation had been handled.

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Within a month, their investigators had uncovered about 20 million documents that the previous team had failed to find in three years, Hammound said.

Part of the blame, she said, lies with Andy Arena, the former director of the Detroit FBI office, who failed to properly handle the document searches.

“We can’t tell you where we’re going to go, we can’t tell you where it’s going to lead, we’re going to go where the facts and evidence lead us,” Worthy said. “I know that’s been repetitive but that’s the truth. Anything else would be irresponsible.”

“I want to remind the people of Flint that justice delayed is not always justice denied and a fearless and dedicated team of career prosecutors and investigators are hard at work to ensure those who harmed you are held accountable," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement at the time.

Twelve people died from Legionnaires’ disease and dozens were sickened after lead from old pipes seeped into Flint’s drinking water after a change in the water source in 2014 and 2015.

Prosecutors face a deadline of nine months if they intend to re-file misconduct in office charges, due to the statue of limitations.